Fast 440yd Swim By 12-Year-Old

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31224, 23 November 1966, Page 23

Fast 440yd Swim By 12-Year-Old

An excellent swim over a quarter of a mile by 12-year-old Catherine Whiting was the highlight of a time trial session at the Wharenui Coronation pool.

Miss Whiting’s time of smin 32.65ec indicated that she is on the threshold of another successful season in age group competition—and should also make her presence felt in open events. Her time was only I.2sec slower than the winning effort by Miss L. Falk in last season’s Canterbury junior (under-16) final and was more than 12sec faster than the required time for a provincial under-14 record. She was comfortably inside the qualifying time for the New Zealand junior championships. Miss Whiting covered the first 110 yd in lmin 13.35 e slightly slower than her best sprint time —and maintained this strong stroke rating all the way. Two Years Older

An Auckland girl, Janet Holloway, is spoken of as a bright star on the horizon of freestyle swimming in the Dominion. Yet her time in winning her Auckland 440 yd age group title earlier this year was exactly the same as Miss Whiting’s—and Miss Holloway was then 14 years old.

Two Wharenui junior breaststroke swimmers, Kathryn Harris and Max King, were each O.lsec outside national qualifying times. Miss Harris covered 110 yd in lmin 31.1 sec and King’s time for 220 yd was 3min I.6sec. One of the most promising swims at the trials was the 110 yd butterfly effort by an

11-year-old girl, Helen Sexton. Her time of lmin 37.65ec was 2sec better than the Canterbury under-12 record and almost lOsec faster than the winning time in last season’s national teleprinter contest Miss Sexton should figure prominently in this year’s competition, to be held next month.